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Momodou
Denmark
11640 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Apr 2023 : 12:05:24
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Gov’t intends taking legal action for alleged bribery slammed at Barrow
The Point: Apr 12, 2023
By: Pa Modou Cham
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/govt-intends-taking-legal-action-for-alleged-bribery-slammed-at-barrow
Speaking to veteran journalist Peter Gomez on his Coffee Time Show yesterday, government spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh revealed that “government is working on legal actions” against the authors who alleged that the president was involved in corruption and bribery.
The publication going round alleged that “President Adama Barrow is involved in corruption and bribery” and thus allegedly received 2.5 million Euros on a bus deal that is set for commissioning today.
Spokesperson Sankareh stated that the President had read the allegation and “is very unhappy about it”.
He added that President Barrow had instructed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to review the report and advise him legally on what options are available.
He further revealed that the President was willing to hire lawyers from either the United Kingdom or America to help deal with allegations against him, members of his government, and his character.
“Over the past years, the character in question who wrote the piece of allegation tries to align the President with even drug deals, stealing elections and more. It could all be politics but to now suggest in an election time that the President has pocketed over 150 million dalasis, when we have kids who cannot pay their school fees and University students struggling to pay their bills, I think are ridiculous,” the spokesperson.
Sankareh continued that the allegations were not only directed at the President, they were also trying to draw a wedge between the president and the people who voted for him, international development partners, members of the diplomatic and consular corps and the security forces.
In another allegation in which the United Democratic Party (UDP) campaign manager, Momodou Sabally stated on West Coast Radio that the Justice Minister “spent over D15 million” on travel, Mod K. Ceesay, Chief of Staff at State House, responded to the allegation.
“Figures don’t lie and I didn’t see a travel vote of D15 million at the ministry of Justice,” Ceesay said. “The last time I checked, it was about D5 million. Let Sabally tell people that the president is recognised as champion of human rights, great respecter of the rule of law and good governance.”
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11640 Posts |
Posted - 13 Apr 2023 : 12:54:05
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This is the allegation that triggered Government reaction!
Culled from: Open Gambia FB
BOMBSHELL!
OUR MINISTER OF FINANCE INSIDE ALLEGED MASSIVE CORRUPTION INVOLVING THE STATEHOUSE, TAKING KICKBACKS FROM BUSINESSPEOPLE!
The stench of corruption coming from the Office of the President is shameful. It is the corrupt mixture of private business wealth and public squalor.
Business interests are embedded in the Office of the President, and these are damaging enough. But we are in the age of shamelessness now in the country's highest office.
The e available facts should be concerning for the scandal haunting Barrow's government. Alas, this is a phenomenon in President Barrow’s government that is both wider and deeper.
Nonetheless, the people should be increasing questions will be asked to unearth corruption in the Gambia.
In this trajectory, our whistle-blower at the Finance Ministry exposes massive corruption involving two local business tycoons - Mohammed Jah, Espace Motors and Tarik Musa, TK Motors. But, of course, the mentioned business people are in connivance with the President's Office.
The business tycoons conspired with the president's office by presenting procurement deals for the purchase of buses for Gambia Transport Service Company (GSTC), a company owned by pensioners.
The fraudulent business model is based on the suppliers presenting inflated invoices for the deal. Therefore, in the proceeds, they will pay kickbacks to the president and civil servants that facilitated the transaction.
The president gets Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation “SSHFC” to finance the deal, putting pensioners' funds at considerable risk.
This business model is wrong from the start, as the costs of the buses are way above the market price, and the Bus Company cannot handle the increased load of buses quickly.
Nevertheless, our mole within the Finance Ministry informed us that the President's Office only consulted the transport company GTSC to request specifications for the type of buses they required.
They, ‘the Office of the President,‘ are not involving GSTC in the design of the business project initially. Therefore, it’s wrong for them to impose what they want makes the project unsustainable for the national interest. The increase in the purchase of more buses is in the interest of the president and the economic mafias in making profits for themselves, disregarding the risk it poses to pensioners' investment and promoting impunity to corruption.
BACKGROUND OF THE FRAUDULENT CASE
Our followers may remember that Open Gambia Platform published an article on the 26/09/2022 captions, “THE BARROW ADMINISTRATION IS EXPOSING PENSIONERS' FUNDS AT THE SSHFC TO SEVERE RISK”
The Barrow administration has started interfering with the prudent management of the pensioner's funds at the SSHFC. Previous attempts by the Office of the President to syphoned pensioner funds were denied by the former managing director, Mohammed Manjang, and the former board of directors - Chairman Serign Jallow.
The president succeeded in getting his way around accessing the pensioner's funds by replacing both the MD Manjang and his then Chairman Jallow.
In their places, he appointed Mr Saloum Malang as the MD. Malang is reported to be the president’s first cousin. Mr Reme Joiner was also appointed as chairman. Need I point out that Mr Joiner is an executive member of the National People Party “ NPP “ Banjul branch and a Member of the Local government commission of enquiries!
Hence, it has come to our attention that the president's office has reignited its deal with Tarik Musa of TK Motors. This move was a device purposely to defraud the pensioners in their bus procurement.
Such a scheme by the Office of the President was previously blocked by the former Management of the SSHFC funds.
Need I remind you that it’s the same Tarik that was sanctioned by the Janneh Commission white paper not to do business with the government due to TK Motors' involvement in similar fraudulent procurement deals with the previous regime?
However, a few weeks ago, the president instructed Mr Joiner and Mr Malang for the deal to go ahead by transferring Nine Million Euros, €9 million, into Tarik Musa of TK Motors’ Bank account.
The reason is to purchase buses for GTSC, the state's own transportation company. In this process, they bypassed the procurement rules and did not include the rest of the board members in the decision-making.
The procurement deal is a non-solicited scheme hatched by Tarik Musa in his usual ways of corrupting public officials to do business, making profits for his company.
A contact at the president's office told us that she has observed among themselves that they are mentioning different quantities of buses. This may be a sign of some misconduct taking place in the deal.
Some said the number of buses is 150, with others mentioning 100. But as far as she is concerned, the instructions to SSHFC are to purchase 50 buses for public transport countrywide.
She was unsure how they came up with the €9 million tag price. Most likely, it’s due to the price inflation for the kickbacks paid to the president and the deal facilitators.
However, these transactions triggered our whistle-blower at the Ministry of Finance to contact us and share the latest updates with additional details on those who paid the kickbacks. These are the actual figures involved in the deal:
*50 buses@ €9.8M = D646.8M
*20 buses@ €5M = D330M
*Total 70 buses@ €14.8M
*Total €14.8M @D66/E1 = D976,800,000
Meaning each bus = D13,954,286
Sadly, the most expensive are the five buses = Each costing D7M. The other 20 air-conditioned buses are D5M each, and the rest are ordinary buses at D3.5M each.
Notwithstanding, the following people, including the president, were paid kickbacks from the inflated invoice of €14.8M:
1. President Barrow pocketed €2.5M,
2. The present MD of SSHFC, Mr Saloum Malang, received €250,000,
3. Board Chairman (SSHFC) O'Remie Joiner received €250,000,
4. Ebrima Ceesay, then Secretary to Cabinet and Alagie Ceesay, Chief Protocol, each received €400,000.
The handing over ceremony of the buses is on Wednesday, 12th Apr 2023. And we are reliably informed that the president will be gracing the occasion at the July 22 Square!
There are already 35 new buses at the GTSC grounds, and the other 35 are at the Port Authority.
It is, however, callous and shocking that with the challenging economic situation in the country, the president, his so-called technocrats and business cartels are busy scheming to loot our coffers.
Rather than working on finding the solutions to tackling the myriad of problems in the country, they continue enriching themselves while the people continue to suffer.
The deal has an unmistakable hallmark similar to the £20 airport levy and the Banjul Road drainage project. A company advances an unbid contract to the president's office, bypassing the other stakeholders mandated to take responsibility.
The president uses an executive directive to abuse his executive powers in overriding the checks and balances mechanisms to facilitate the deal.
If the citizens continue to fail to hold this corrupt and ruthless regime to account, they will ultimately destabilise the nation as their recklessness is unsustainable.
What terminal damage this corruption-infested government can do if not held accountable does not bear contemplating.
However, pensioners need to be vigilant as their retirement is at significant risk once again.
Stay tuned for the revelations on the other Economic Cartel member MOHAMMED JAH of QCELL and ESPACE MOTOR!
Your support means the world to us! Please give our page a follow to keep up with our latest posts, and don't forget to hit that like button and share our content with your friends and family. Thank you for being a part of the OPEN GAMBIA PLATFORM community!
Article contributed by Sulayman Ben Suwareh! @08/04/2023 07:45
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11640 Posts |
Posted - 13 Apr 2023 : 21:09:00
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[/b]Barrow challenged to go to court over €2.5M bribery allegation
The Point: Apr 13, 2023
By: Arfang M.S. Camara[/b]
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/barrow-challenged-to-go-to-court-over-2-5m-bribery-allegation
Sulayman Ben Suwareh, an author and a critic of Barrow’s government, has challenged the president to go to court over allegations that he was involved in corruption by receiving 2.5 million Euros kickback in a deal of buses commissioned yesterday.
Mr Suwareh, who was speaking in an interview on West Coast Radio over his bribery allegation against the Gambian leader, said he was happy President Barrow would take the matter to court.
Meanwhile, the response from Mr Suwareh came after government’s Spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh on Tuesday said on the Coffee Time radio programme with Peter Gomez that “government is working on taking legal actions” against the authors who alleged that the president was involved in corruption and bribery.
“This will give Gambians an opportunity to put him on trial since the National Assembly Members who are supposed to hold him accountable together with other institutions are failing to do so,” Mr Suwareh said. “This will be a perfect opportunity to prove my allegation and also make Barrow be held to account.”
Asked whether he had conducted a thorough research on the president before making the allegation, he said he was not going to reveal his legal strategy since the case was going to proceed to court.
“I want to remind Gambians that these allegations are grounded,” he insisted, saying: “My allegation mirrored all the National Audit Office reports as well as Malagen revelation. The only thing absent from the national audit report is that the president has benefited from the powers he has abused to make the Gambia government get into contracts that are not favourable and are detrimental to the economy of the country.”
According to Mr Suwareh, he doesn’t have anything personal against President Barrow or any of his cabinet members, adding that he had been consistent in anything he had said since the First Republic to date and would always be vindicated.
“I’ll not come out and make such allegations against the president without having the proof or ways to prove them, especially mentioning an exact amount. This amount is what was put out there,” he argued
Mr Ben-Suwareh added that the way the president reacted by sending his spokesperson to react to the issue “shows that they are rattled”, saying: “This is an allegation coming from a citizen not from a political party or an institution.”
He said further that if the president didn’t take the matter to court, then it would mean that the president was guilty of the allegations, evidence of which, he added, he would not give clues at the moment.
“If they are confident that they have not done anything wrong, let them take the matter to court and if the president fails to take it to court, then he is guilty of the allegations against him,” Suwareh contended.
“I just wish that he would use part of that money he has put away to take me to court. Because he is going to lose the case and I don’t want the state to spend that much money to take me to court and lose its case.”
He called on Gambians to wake up and hold President Barrow to account, adding that the reason “the president is acting this way is because he is being cornered”.
“Until we have the audacity to stand up,” Suwareh reasoned, “there are so many instances that people know and should come out to hold him to account for because the country is not sustainable anymore.” |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11640 Posts |
Posted - 19 Apr 2023 : 11:20:24
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ALAGIE BARROW IS WADING INTO THE PRESIDENT BARROW LEGAL THREAT!
Adama Barrow And His Threat Of A Lawsuit!
As someone that considers himself generous, I’m with this extending my generosity to my brother Adama Barrow by advising him to think long and hard before he embarks on any lawsuit against anyone accusing him of corruption. Those egging him on with mindless bravado and feigned contempt have nothing to lose whether the president prevails in his suit. But Adama Barrow has a lot to lose, whether he wins or loses.
Here is the bitter truth: It’s an undeniable fact that corruption is rife in The Gambia. I have said it before, and I will repeat it if one cares to look hard enough, there isn’t a public institution in The Gambia today where you’ll not find corrupt practices. And it’s also a fact that a lot of corruption in The Gambia started from the president's office! We have all seen the audit reports and various Malagen investigative reports! So let’s not pretend as if there’s no corruption in the office of the president. Or act as if Adama Barrow doesn’t know anything about the numerous deals his office is involved in! These are not mere opinions; they are facts!
Here’s the thing about defamation lawsuits! Whoever you accuse of defaming, you will argue that what they said about you is not defamatory because it is true. And to defend themselves, the defendant may request any information that proves their case. If you, Adama Barrow or your business associates fail to deliver the requested information, and it may come across as if you’re hiding something. That doesn’t look good on your reputation and the legacy you claim you want to leave. The defence may subpoena Those awarded these contracts to appear in court, which could lead to more can of worms for you and them. The business people you have been accused of will not want their business dealings laid bare before Gambians. Please do not think any transactions you may have had with anyone are so secretive that no one can ever find out. For instance, I can tell you that someone high up in your government and someone you are close to was seen with one of the persons mentioned in this “bus dealings” and they were not together to have some innocent lunch. Phone records, statehouse visit logs, your bank statements and that of your associates may all come to play, and I’m sure neither you nor your associates will want that to happen. So again, think long and hard before you embark on this slippery slope of a lawsuit.
Let me borrow one of the meaningless phrases Gambians love to say. I cannot conclude without thanking myself for the complimentary advice, but let me conclude by saying that if I have learned anything about us Gambians, it is that, to say it nicely, our value system is very fluid. If you’re going to engage in any activity of a corrupt nature with us, always make sure that you eat proportionate to what you eat. If it is true that you chopped 2.5 million euros and Peter Gomez, who knows of the deal, only ate 10,000 euros, you can bet your bottom dollar that Peter will talk. He won’t speak because corruption bothers him; he will talk because, well, his stomach is not full. So again, my brother, those egging you on or pretending to be angry about this accusation against you have minimal, if anything, to lose. You, on the other hand, may have to reveal things that you’d instead prefer to be kept in the dark. But if you decide to go ahead with a lawsuit, I’m now offering my services for free to the defence team just so I can come back and say, Bandam, I told you so!
And on a completely different note, I want to urge my brother and in-law, Pa Samba Jow, to leave our able chairman of the IEC, Alieu Momar Njie, alone. Pa Samba knows that resignation is a crime in The Gambia. The IEC is only there to further our charade of democracy, which revolves around periodic elections.
Observing term limits only matters when one is president. Ask our political party leaders if you don’t believe me. Leaving your position when your time is up is a severe crime in the Gambia, and that is why you hardly see anyone resigning or just leaving, more so when you have nothing to go back to since government jobs are the sole means of survival. Many of us. Giving youths a chance only matters when it concerns others. Let the old man enjoy. Let us continue pretending we have a democracy and that our IEC, led by the indefatigable Alieu Momar Njie, is the best in the world. Denial is a potent drug! Let’s continue to wallow in it!
Your support means the world to us! Please give our page a follow to keep up with our latest posts, and don't forget to hit that like button and share our content with your friends and family. Thank you for being a part of the OPEN GAMBIA PLATFORM community!
Article contributed by ALAGIE BARROW 19/04/2023! 05:00 |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Gov’t intends taking legal action for alleged brib
